Criminal Law Commons^™

Plan-B Activist Defense: Defending Animal-Rights Activists In Courtrooms Hostile To Political Argumentation, Hadar Aviram

Vanderbilt Law Review

In recent years, several animal rights activists faced criminal charges for rescuing animals from factory farms. The standard legal approach in these cases has been relying on the necessity defense, which has a long history in cases of civil disobedience and ideologically driven crime. Animal law scholarship on this topic tends to focus on explaining why the defense applies to open rescue. However, as recent trials have demonstrated, actual courtrooms in rural counties tend to be hostile to the necessity defense, and judges can and do rely on Supreme Court precedent to keep it out of the courtroom.

This Article's …

Beyond Autonomy: Rethinking Deception In Sexual Assault Law, Marie Manikis

Vanderbilt Law Review

This Article focuses on recent developments in Britain in which courts have recognised gender deception as a sexual assault by using an autonomy based argument to define deception/fraud that vitiates consent in sexual offences. This Article argues against the defensibility of a framework that criminalizes deception on the basis of an ill defined autonomist based understanding as opposed to a more restrictive standard. It proposes that any adopted standard should incorporate social context and be reflexive of the ways that the state has contributed to these contexts, namely the social conditions under which the deceit takes place as well as …

Killing Through Their Kids, Dyllan Moreno Taxman

William & Mary Law Review

In early 2024, James and Jennifer Crumbley were sentenced to over a decade in prison after their son, Ethan, shot and killed four classmates at Oxford High School in Michigan. The Crumbley parents incurred manslaughter liability by ignoring Ethan’s deteriorating mental state, gifting him the murder weapon, and failing to act on concerns about Ethan’s behavior on the day of the shooting. The Crumbleys were the first parents of a school shooter to be convicted of a homicide in American history. This Article suggests they will be far from the last. Indeed, less than one year after the Crumbley convictions, …

Drug-Based Coercion And Sex Trafficking: Bridging The Legal Disconnect, Vanessa Bouché, Madeleine Bailey

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Flesh Markets: Sex Trafficking, Opioids, And The Legal Process To Eradicate The Demand, Blanche Bong Cook

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Living Property, Joseph William Singer

Seattle University Law Review

The Supreme Court has increasingly defined property rights that are per se exempt from regulation in the absence of compensation, most recently in Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid (2021) and Tyler v. Hennepin County (2023). The Court claims that it can identify property rights that are categorically protected from regulation by reference to history, tradition, and precedent. Yet this approach is oddly ahistorical; it is inconsistent with the fact that property law changed dramatically over U.S. history, as well as varying tremendously among the states. It is also inconsistent with the historical context of the Founding era. At that time, …

Table Of Contents

Seattle University Law Review

Table of Contents

The Roots Of Credit Inequality, Andrea Freeman

Seattle University Law Review

Debt oppression began before the United States became a country. Settlers enslaved Africans and Indigenous people, treating them as property that they could buy and sell for their economic and personal benefit. When enslavement became illegal, new economic systems and laws that included sharecropping, Black Codes, and Jim Crow kept Black people in servitude. Laws that prohibited enslaved people from owning property or selling goods to white people evolved into restrictions on Black people’s occupations and market participation, both formal and informal. When Black entrepreneurs overcame these obstacles and built wealth within Black business enclaves, white people enforced their racist …

“A Plain Denial”: Reclaiming Equal Protection In American Juvenile Law, Addie C. Rolnick, David S. Tanenhaus, Justin Iverson, Danielle L. Silvestri

Seattle University Law Review

Juvenile courts are based on the premise that children are different from adults and should therefore be treated differently. Children may be treated more informally by courts, punished for different purposes, and brought before the court for different behaviors. Since In re Gault, the Supreme Court has been clear that there are limits to how different juvenile courts can be. Juveniles are entitled to many of the same procedural protections as adult criminal defendants, although the Court has preserved some procedural differences where it has determined that their benefit is outweighed by the need to preserve the informality, flexibility, …

Mandating Fluoride: A Constitutional Exercise Of Police Power, Anita Jahangiri

Seattle University Law Review

This Note addresses the ongoing debate over fluoridation: the regulation of fluoride levels in public water systems. Extensive research indicates fluoridation, when regulated at the recommended concentration, is both safe and highly effective in preventing dental caries. Better known as cavities, dental caries is a preventable yet widespread health issue that disproportionately affects low-income populations. Reducing dental health disparities among economic classes is a pressing public health issue. Fluoridation is not merely a policy option, but a critical, proven tool to address such disparities and uphold the collective welfare of Washingtonians. This Note focuses on fluoridation as a public health …

Neurodiversity In The Courtroom: Expanding Jury Service Accessibility Beyond Physical Disability, Samantha L. Mabe

Seattle University Law Review

The Americans with Disabilities Act has required equal access to jury service for decades; however, efforts to accommodate jurors with disabilities have been slow to develop beyond some minor accommodations for physical disabilities. While neurodivergent people frequently struggle to navigate a world catered toward neurotypical people, jury service remains inaccessible for many neurodivergent people who need accommodations to attend trial and engage in jury deliberations. If courts and advocates do not consider how to develop accommodations to secure the service of neurodivergent jurors, they will miss out on the unique skillsets that neurodivergent people can bring to resolving disputes.

Disabled …

Redefining Section 230 Immunity, Lucas Dini

Seattle University Law Review

Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act has provided broad immunity to online platforms for third-party content which was the foundation for the internet's growth. However, the rise in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to produce algorithms to curate content to users of online services has blurred the line between being a passive host of third party content and active editorial control. This Note examines the legal, policy, and constitutional implications of applying Section 230 immunity to platforms that use AI to curate and promote third-party content. This analysis argues that algorithmic promotion of third-party content constitutes a platform's …

Overcrowding The System: Rethinking Juvenile Justice In Washington State, Mckenna White

Seattle University Law Review

The recent crisis at Green Hill School highlights the detrimental consequences of severe overcrowding in Washington State’s Juvenile Rehabilitation system—a problem exacerbated by the implementation of the JR to 25 legislation. This Note argues that the juvenile rehabilitation system, which is currently struggling to manage a wide age range of offenders, necessitates a fundamental rethinking of juvenile justice practices. By examining neurological research indicating continued brain development into the mid-twenties, along with the high prevalence of trauma among justice-involved youth, this Note proposes the creation of a dedicated third system of care within the Department of Children, Youth, and Families …

The Perlmutter Center For Legal Justice At Cardozo Law Secures Release Of Ernest Taylor After Serving 22 Years In Prison For A Minor Theft, Benjamin N. Cardozo School Of Law

Cardozo Law News Archive

Announcement of the Perlmutter Center securing Ernest Taylor's release after resentencing.

Addressing The Root Of Housing Insecurity: Washington Should Divest From “Crime-Free” Housing Programs, Sarah Cerdena

Seattle University Law Review

Crime-Free Rental Housing Properties (CFRHPs) have proven to be an ineffective and inequitable approach to public safety. Often, tenants in these properties are evicted—at times, extrajudicially—as a result of conduct that does not rise to violations of their lease provisions, much less criminal behavior. By placing extraordinary power in the hands of local law enforcement to carry out these ordinances, CFRHPs predictably pose significant harm to Black and Latinx communities, survivors of domestic violence, disabled tenants, and low-income tenants generally. Recently, the Washington State Supreme Court grappled with the tensions arising between CFRHPs and the enforcement of Washington landlord-tenant law. …

Volume 49 Masthead

Seattle University Law Review

Volume 49 Masthead

Esg Investing Breaches Erisa Fiduciary Duties? A Closer Look At Spence V. American Airlines, Inc., Eric Chin-Ru Chang

Seattle University Law Review

In Spence v. American Airlines, Inc., the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas found that American Airlines breached its fiduciary duties due to BlackRock’s ESG investing practices. Contrary to some reports suggesting that the ruling prohibits ESG investing under ERISA, a closer look at the ruling shows that the court only targeted American Airlines’ failure to manage conflicts of interest appropriately, rather than the legality of ESG investing itself. In light of the intensifying ESG backlash in the United States, this Article cautions against further restrictive measures on ESG investing. Such measures would exacerbate the widening …

A Conversation With Danielle Sassoon, Former Interim U.S. Attorney For The Southern District Of Ny, Jacob Burns Center For Ethics In The Practice Of Law, Criminal Law Society, Jessica A. Roth, Danielle Sassoon

2025–2026 Flyers

No abstract provided.

Forfeiture Takings, Police Power, And Necessity Destruction, Shelley Ross Saxer

University of Miami Law Review

Civil forfeiture laws allow law enforcement to seize property when there is probable cause it has been used or possessed in violation of legal rules, often before an owner has a chance to contest the government’s seizure in court. In the criminal context, forfeiture is typically an in personam action that requires a criminal conviction and is part of a defendant’s sentence. In the civil context, however, forfeiture is an in rem proceeding brought against the property derived from or used to commit an offense––not against the person who committed the offense. As such, a civil forfeiture may not require …

Brewbaker And The Undermining Of Criminal Antitrust Enforcement, Itiel J. Wainer

University of Miami Law Review

In United States v. Brewbaker, a Fourth Circuit panel overturned a criminal conviction under § 1 of the Sherman Act, holding that a bid-rigging conspiracy between direct competitors constituted a hybrid “dual distribution” arrangement subject to the rule of reason rather than per se illegality. The court’s rationale rested on the existence of a separate vertical relationship between the parties, even though that relationship served only as consideration for the horizontal agreement to rig bids.

This Comment argues that Brewbaker rests on three doctrinal errors: misclassifying established bid-rigging tactics as a “new” restraint simply because the payoff took a …

Law School News: Seeing Justice Up Close 10-22-2025, Alli-Michelle Conti

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

A Conversation With Danielle Sassoon, Jacob Burns Center For Ethics In The Practice Of Law, Cardozo Criminal Law Society, American Constitution Society (Acs), Danielle Sassoon, Jessica A. Roth

2025 Event Invitations

Danielle Sassoon is currently a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. Prior to her appointment as Interim U.S. Attorney in January 2025 by President Trump, Ms. Sassoon served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York for over eight years. Among her notable cases as an Assistant U.S. Attorney were the prosecution of Lawrence Ray for racketeering conspiracy, extortion, forced labor, and sex trafficking, related to his abuse and exploitation of his daughter’s college roommates and others. She also investigated and prosecuted Samuel Bankman-Fried and others for the multi-billion-dollar fraud on customers of FTX.com. In …

Law School News: Rwu Law Student And Alum Honored By Justice Assistance For Their Commitment To Justice 10-22-2025, Helga Melgar

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

United States V. Minor: Two Major Issues, Hemangi Patel

Texas A&M Law Review

This Note analyzes a 2024 Fifth Circuit opinion concerning two issues: “(1) whether the district court erred by applying the career-offender enhancement when calculating Minor’s . . . range” under the United States Sentencing Guidelines (“Guidelines”), and “(2) if so, whether that error was harmless.” In United States v. Minor, the Fifth Circuit first held that the district court erred by applying the career-offender enhancement when calculating Minor’s Guidelines range because the defendant’s prior marijuana convictions no longer qualified as predicate offenses under the Controlled Substances Act (“CSA”). Second, the court held that the error was not harmless because …

Pardon Me Please: Evaluating Clemency For Marijuana Offenders, Mitchell F. Crusto

Washington and Lee Law Review Online

Since 2012, several states and municipalities have decriminalized the non-violent use and possession of small amounts of recreational marijuana by adults. These criminal law reforms raise the issue of whether individuals who were convicted in the past should be exonerated retroactively by way of pardons or clemency. Consequently, many past marijuana offenders remain in state prisons for committing acts that are no longer deemed illegal in many states. Furthermore, these prisoners, as well as persons who were formerly accused or imprisoned, suffer from the stigma and negative collateral consequences of their alleged criminality. In response to these injustices, many governors …

The Trial Of Musammat Kelee: Widowhood, Infanticide, And Colonial Justice In Early Twentieth Century India, Rashmi Banerjee

Socio-Legal Review

This article examines the 1920 trial of Musammat Kelee, a Hindu widow from Ajmer-Merwara, accused of drowning her illegitimate infant son in a lake. Drawing on extensive trial records, police reports, and official correspondence, it reconstructs the procedural history of her case and situates it within broader colonial debates on female sexuality, widowhood, and infanticide. Kelee’s conviction under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code, despite weak evidence, hinged on judicial emphasis on her widowhood and the perceived illegitimacy of her child as proof of motive. Yet her subsequent pardon by the Viceroy’s office reflected a contradictory administrative impulse that …

Prosecutorial Interviewing Reform: Applying Victim-Centered Practices For Trauma-Informed Justice, Ana J. Prata

Advanced Issues in Criminal Law: Sex Offenses

No abstract provided.

Structurally Harmless: Why Brecht Should Apply On Collateral Review Of Structural Errors, Jaden M. Lessnick

Notre Dame Law Review Reflection

Even when a prisoner has overcome all of AEDPA’s requirements and the Supreme Court’s equitable bars to relief, the writ of habeas corpus may issue only as “law and justice” require. The Court has recognized in recent Terms that the habeas statute thus confers on courts discretion to deny relief notwithstanding the satisfactions of the statutory and equitable preconditions. This discretion, the Court has said, is not boundless. A judge may grant the writ only after considering the principles of finality and federalism. Whatever else that includes, the Supreme Court has made clear that a judge must apply Brecht’s …

What Is Trump Immunity?, Carlos M. Vázquez

Notre Dame Law Review Reflection

By definition, the immunity of a former President is not an immunity ratione personae, as this sort of immunity applies only to current officeholders. It is an immunity ratione materiae extending only to certain types of acts. The Court in Trump made clear that the immunity a former President enjoys is at least an immunity from judicial proceedings. It is for this reason that she is entitled to an immediate appeal from the denial of a motion to dismiss the claim against her. The Court left unclear whether the President’s immunity is also an immunity from primary obligations or an …

Making Youth Matter, Kimberly Ambrose

Washington Law Review

Gun violence is the leading cause of death for children and adolescents in the United States. The harm caused by this public health crisis falls disproportionately on Black and Brown youth. While it is broadly accepted that children are less blameworthy than adults for their criminal behavior, what does this mean when they have access to and use guns? The Supreme Court held that youth matters when juveniles face life without parole sentences because children are different from adults—they fail to appreciate risks and consequences; are more impulsive; more susceptible to peer and family influence; less able to remove themselves …